2006 Brick House Pinot Noir (Ribbon Ridge - Les Dijonnais)

For a fairly cool, and bashful, vintage, we all loved this wine. It had a very nice "Volnay" bouquet and taste to it, gentle cherry-spice core, with a solid and long after-taste that echoed through some cinnamon and clove. The wine stock is based on Dijon clones. The rim was a limpid pink, and it was not as 'stuffed' as some previous Brick House vintages, but lovely. Brick House is one of the few Oregon producers that can churn out consistently "Burgundian" style Pinots, and some Burghounders might even call this a "feminine" Pinot for its delicate aromatics and gentle cherry, but there's definitely some tannic presence. We let in breathe in large Pinot glasses for 10-15 mins before hitting it in earnest. Gorgeous stuff, if a little restrained. But if you're into delicate Pinots, this may be worth the money charged by BrickHouse (~$45). 91/100
Bottom line: Not the densest, but certainly one of the loveliest, of Oregon Pinots but great juice. It will remind some of a nice Volnay.

2006 Penfolds Bin 138 (G-S-M blend)

Cracked this open on Saturday to accompany some pumpkin gnocchi topped with a home-made bolognese sauce, that featured chopped leg of lamb and chopped saucisson sec (along with other items), and the ripe pruniness went well with the red sauce. Not much on the nose in the small glass I had to sample it in, but the fruit presence was there with some pepper, some tar (?), and some mineral spine. This is mostly Grenache, with almost equal portions of Syrah and Mourvedre (Shiraz and Mataro in old Aussie-speak). Very nice. I'm not sure how often I would go back to this for the price (about $35), but it's solid for a mass production (company) wine from Australia. Solid. 88/100 for us.
Bottom line: A bit over-priced, but not bad for a) Penfold and b) the 06 vintage in Barossa.

2007 Jaffurs Santa Barbara County (Syrah)

From an apparently "care-free vintage" as Jaffurs put it in a recent interview, this Syrah was absolutely gorgeous and yes, huge. This is their general appellation bottle, and it positively throttled us with its lovely blueberry cream/cobbler scents and palate, but yet it has the tell-tale savory sweetness of Syrah and the white pepper after-scents you might expect from a good northern Rhone. Between this and the CdePape (reviewed below), have to give this wine the nod for the match with the leg of lamb we enjoyed Xmas Eve.

And frankly, for $24 (thanks Marc!), this was an absolute steal. It was punching well above its weight class.

95/100

Bottom line: A great, reasonably-priced California Syrah. If you can find it, you're nuts not to buy it.

2005 Domaine de la Charbonniere, Mourre des Perdrix Chateauneuf-du-Pape

From the legendary 05 vintage, we enjoyed the Charbonniere Chateauneuf with a roasted whole leg of lamb, with an olive paste crust stuck on, and it was a great match. Fantastic raspberry-blackberry aromas carried over to the palate, and there's a wonderful mineral spine to this wine ("wet rocks") that was palpable from start to finish, with a solid 30+ second finish. At a hefty 15% ABV this was no lightweight, and it's a bit frightening to see this kind of alcohol from a southern Rhone wine. But it carried its balance, and its alcohol, deftly. My only regret? Not keeping it for another decade (or two). This has a lot of stuffing and complexity that will show well in even a few more years. For us, 93/100.

Bottom line: A great CdePape for about $40.

2003 Columbia Crest (estates) Shiraz, Columbia Valley

For a $12 bottle, this is the second time we have had this wine and it just shines. 88/100. Creamy blueberries, light white pepper, smooth, smooth, smooth. Went really well with our braised beef short-rib bolognese over farfalle pasta last night. Fantastic. Get it.

2007 Alain Graillot St.-Joseph (Syrah)

Warning: Do not drink this wine quickly. OK, on to the tasting note. I honestly thought I'd gotten a bum bottle of this highly rated juice (92 pts in Wine Spectator). This was a generous vintage, I love St-Joseph (Syrah), and Graillot is a solid producer. On the nose, after opening, was the tell-tale white pepper and iron streak coming through. But no fruit. Nothing. Almost mildewy, which freaked me out. After about an hour exposed, better. After two hours, WOW. Great. Blackberries in pepper; fruit finally emerged. So if you plan on drinking this in the next year (09-10), give it at least an hour in a decanter, then approach. Good balance, acidity, but just packed and too young and dumb to sort itself out straight out of the bottle into a glass.

After 5 minutes: 80/100

After 60-90 mins: 91/100

About $30 retail in a store here in Santa Fe.

2006 Guenoc Lake County Petite Sirah

I cracked this reasonable $15 wine last night with pan-grilled brats and a sweet potato-fennel-yam gratin; they went well. The wine itself, usually an inky-black reflective of its grape, was a bit pale-rimmed. This was a probable reflection of the cooler, moister 2006 growing season in northern California, and it meant some different aromas and a lower alcohol for a Petite (13.5% abv). Still had the deep, bruised, purple fruits on both nose and palate, along with some fairly well integrated oak, but the tannins were surprising. You might give this another year or two in bottle, to see how it evolves, or let it breathe for an hour. It's ready, but I am curious to see how this evolves. There was a very pleasant mineral-graphite finish to this...
87/100.
Bottom line: One of the better Petite Sirahs at this price point.